What ancient civilization knew about the Pythagorean theorem 1000 years before Pythagoras?

The ancient Babylonians had knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem long before Pythagoras, around 2000 BCE. They used a base-60 number system and created clay tablets that demonstrated their understanding of the relationship between the sides of a right triangle, specifically the formula (a^2 + b^2 = c^2). These early mathematical insights were evident in their application to practical problems such as land measurement and astronomy.